American television executive
Jamie Kellner
is an
American
former
television
executive. He was founding president of
Fox Broadcasting
. Kellner was chairman and
CEO
of
Turner Broadcasting System
, Inc., a division of
Time Warner
which includes
TBS
,
TNT
, and
Cartoon Network
from 2001 to 2003. He was the chairman of station ownership group
ACME Communications
, a post held from the company's founding until its folding in 2016.
Early life and education
[
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Kellner was born to an Irish Catholic family in
Brooklyn
and grew up on
Long Island
,
[1]
New York.
Career
[
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After college he participated in the CBS Executive Training Program and after
CBS
disposed of its syndication division, he rose to the rank of vice president for first-run programming, development, and sales at
Viacom
. In 1978, he accepted a job as executive of
Filmways
, a film and television producer and distributor.
[2]
In 1982, after Filmways was taken over by
Orion Pictures
, he served as president of its Orion Entertainment Group, where he oversaw and supervised their programming and syndication activities including the launch of
Cagney and Lacey
.
[2]
In 1986, he was the first executive hired by
Rupert Murdoch
and
Barry Diller
to develop a fourth television network to compete with the big three. At
Fox
, he was charged with building the affiliate network, selling programming to advertisers, and the establishment of relations with program producers.
[2]
Fox Broadcasting Company
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Kellner was present at the creation of the
Fox Broadcasting Company
and held the position from 1986 to 1993.
[3]
Among the shows that emerged during Kellner's seven years at Fox were
The Simpsons
,
Married... with Children
,
Beverly Hills, 90210
,
Melrose Place
and
In Living Color
. Those shows held the fledgling "web" together until Fox shocked the television world by winning partial rights to the
National Football League
(NFL) in
1994
from
CBS
; that, as well as channel upgrades in many markets due to Fox's alliance and merger with
New World Communications
, made Fox a legitimate
fourth network
.
[3]
WB Television Network
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Kellner then spent seven years at the helm of the
WB Television Network
. He helped launch the new broadcast network in 1994. During his tenure, Kellner began by championing urban
sitcoms
, but eventually steered the network in the direction of teen and family-oriented
dramas
.
7th Heaven
,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
,
Gilmore Girls
,
Dawson's Creek
,
Felicity
and
Charmed
all premiered during Kellner's presidency.
Head of Turner Broadcasting System
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Kellner was made head of
Turner Broadcasting System
in 2000. He was ultimately the one who made the decision to cancel
World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) programming on Turner's networks in 2001. The once-powerful WCW was the largest wrestling promotion in the world popularity-wise in the mid-1990s, besting its rival
World Wrestling Federation
(WWF, now known as the WWE) head-to-head on
Monday nights
for 83 consecutive weeks. By 2001, it was declining, and lost roughly $60 million the previous year.
[4]
A combination of resurgent competition from WWF, as well as many bad booking and financial decisions had all but killed WCW's fanbase and profitability. With WCW no longer being financially viable, and
AOL Time Warner
wanting nothing to do with the product further (desiring to move in a different direction), Kellner canceled all WCW programming on
TBS
and
TNT
. This left WCW without a television contract, and hastened its eventual purchase of assets by WWF chairman
Vince McMahon
.
In the book
The Death of WCW
by
Bryan Alvarez
and RD Reynolds, Kellner is listed as the official "killer" of WCW, insofar as he made the official call to remove it from Turner Networks.
[5]
In the book
NITRO: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW
by Guy Evans, it is said that a key condition in WCW's purchase deal with Fusient Media Ventures was that Fusient wanted control over time slots on TNT and TBS networks, regardless of whether these slots would show WCW programming or not. This influenced Kellner's decision to ultimately cancel WCW programming. WCW's losses were then written-off via purchase accounting; according to Evans: "in the post-merger environment, the new conglomerate was able to 'write down' money losing operations, essentially eliminating those losses because of their irrelevancy moving forward."
[6]
Personal life
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Kellner and his wife, Julie, have one child, and he also has a daughter from his previous marriage.
[2]
References
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Sources
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